The Complete Guide to Instagram Influencer Rates in 2019

Instagram influencer rates are one of social media’s best-kept secrets.

Sure, there are whispers and rumours, like Kendall Jenner’s reported $250,000 haul for her Fyre Festival endorsement on Instagram. But what exactly are the calculations that go into making influencer marketing a $6.5 billion industry?

For most Instagram influencers, a sponsored post involves a lot more work than posting an orange square. (For those not in the know, Fyre Festival promoters created buzz by paying macro-influencers to post an orange jpeg.)

Creating branded content involves time, labour, skill, and production costs. And those things aren’t paid for with products and freebies.

And paying the right price pays off. But what is the right price?

Read on to find the best formula for calculating rates, the benefits of different sponsorship plans, and other factors that might affect influencer pricing.

Bonus:Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a lifestyle photographer used to grow from 0 to 600,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

The basic formula for calculating fair Instagram influencer rates

There are many factors that determine the rate an influencer charges for their work. Most pricing starts with this baseline formula and goes up from there.

$100 x 10,000 followers + extras = total rate

Typically, influencers will have a press kit describing their rates and the types of partnerships available. Depending on the campaign, bundled content or special rates can also be worked out to reduce labor and costs.

If your goal is brand awareness

For brands looking to create widespread buzz, macro-influencers with large follower accounts may be the best bet. Macro-influencers typically have more than 200,000 followers, which gives them the ability to reach a wider audience.

If your goal is conversions

An influencer’s engagement rate is one of the most reliable ways to predict conversions on Instagram.

Engagement rates can be calculated by adding up all engagements on a post (likes, comments, clicks, shares), dividing by follower count, and multiplying by 100.

If your goal is conversions, an influencer’s engagement rate may matter more than follower count. Here’s where power-middle influencers (25,000-200,000 followers) often come in.

For instance, a power-middle influencer with 179K followers and a high engagement rate will likely be a better partner than a macro influencer with a lower engagement rate.

Some influencers may charge more than $100 per 10,000 followers if they have a higher than average engagement rate.

If your goal is to reach a niche audience

Micro influencers have 25,000 followers or less, and are very often popular in location or topic-specific communities. They specialize in a range of industries of categories, including anything from sports and gaming, to travel and food.

Audience sizes of niche influencers can range from micro to macro. For instance, beauty influencer Hudda Kattan has a whopping 33 million followers.

If your brand falls into a niche category, it’s worthwhile to map out the micro influencers in your industry’s social community. A good brand fit is important to influencers, and will lead to a more authentic and successful campaign.

Niche influencers may charge more than the basic rate for the expertise they bring to their specific audience.

Types of Instagram posts and partnerships

There are a number of ways to collaborate with influencers on Instagram. Here we break down the main items and formats Instagram influencers charge for. We also highlight each of their unique benefits.

Instagram photo

A standard sponsored Instagram post typically includes a photo and caption.

In some cases the product is featured in the image. In other cases, like when a service is being promoted, the caption is more crucial.

Benefits of an Instagram photo:

It’s easy to predict and track post performance.

Partnership disclaimers can be added clearly.

Product and brand tagging can be added. Tagging can be reinforced in the caption as well.

Instagram giveaway or contest

Instagram contests are a great way to grow followers and brand awareness. Typically a contest involves asking a user to do something for a chance to win a prize, whether it’s tagging a friend, liking your account, or sharing a post.

Benefits of an Instagram contest:

Reaches a wider audience at a low cost-per-engagement.

Earns audience information, especially if your contest involves a prompt like “comment with your dream destination and tag a friend.”

Allows the influencer to add personality through GIFs, markups, and sticks.

Prominent tagging can be added more easily. Influencers can be precious about their feed’s aesthetic, but tend to be more flexible with Story content.

One drawback about Instagram Stories is that they’re harder to track. Instagram’s API offers limited retrievable data. That and they disappear unless highlighted (you can pay extra to have your content included in an influencers Story Highlights).

Instagram Story with swipe up

The swipe up feature on Instagram is a seamless way to earn in-app conversions. And since links are hard to come by in Instagram’s ecosystem, story swipe ups have added value.

Depending on the influencer, swipe ups may cost more.

Benefits of an Instagram Story with swipe up:

Provides a cost-effective way to earn conversions and quality leads.

Allows your brand to add context with a specific or custom landing page.

Offers a reliable means to gauge audience interest in your brand.

Brings customers a step closer to making a purchase.

If you’re working with a micro-influencer that has fewer than 10,000 followers or is not verified, they may not have access to this feature.

Instagram Story with poll

Captures immediate feedback from the influencer’s audience in a fun way.

Posting poll results is another low-cost way to increase exposure by another 24 hours.

Brand takeover

A brand takeover usually involves hosting the influencer’s content on your brand’s feed for an agreed upon length of time. A takeover agreement may involve asks for the influencer to promote it a certain number of times from their account–in posts and/or Stories.

Benefits of a brand takeover:

Brings the influencer’s followers to your account.

Helps to increase brand awareness.

Promotes influencer’s content and perspective, which often comes across as more authentic.

Opens the door for bundle or special rate agreements. Influencers should always be paid, but if your brand can offer special tours or access, that can be factored in as well.

Link in Bio

The only place where links are active on Instagram is in a person’s account bio. If you’re planning to sponsor an influencer post, it may be worthwhile to invest more by asking them to promote a link from their bio.

Benefits of Link in Bio:

Prime visibility. Someone may miss a post or story, but if they visit an influencer’s profile they’ll see your link. Consider asking the influencer to include a call-to-action in their bio as well.

Increases traffic. If your brand is angling to drive visitors to a certain webpage, this is one of the best ways to do it on Instagram.

IGTV

IGTV is the longer form video vertical on Instagram. It has pride of place on the platform, appearing at the top of the feed, in the explore tab, and next to highlights on a user’s feed.

Because IGTV typically involves higher production and has high visibility, it will involve higher costs.

Benefits of IGTV:

Boosts visibility of content in the app.

If the influencer is verified and has enough followers, they can post vertical videos up to 60 minutes in length, allowing for long-form storytelling.

Other factors that affect Instagram influencer pricing

Brands in search of quality partnerships should budget for these cost factors when marketing with influencers.

Usage rights

If you want to maintain ownership of the content you create with an influencer, so that you can use it on other platforms or down the line, this will likely impact the influencer’s rate.

Production fees

Various production related costs such as how long it takes to produce the content (labor), props, clothing, hair and makeup, photography, editing, and travel, should be factored into influencer rates.

Agency fees

Many influencers are represented by managers or agencies such as Crowdtap, Niche, Tapinfluencer, or Maker Studios. These companies will typically charge handling fees.

Campaign length

The length of the campaign will have a direct affect on influencer pricing based on the added labour, content, and exclusivity requirements attached to it.

Timing

Depending on how much time a brand gives an influencer to create content, a rush fee may be applied.

Exclusivity

Most contracts include an exclusivity clause, in which the influencer agrees not to work with competitors for a determined length of time. Since this could cost influencers prospective deals, it will affect the cost.

Brand fit

If an influencer feels that a company lacks a level of affinity with their personal brand, they may charge for what the partnership may cost them in credibility.